


tell me this (will never ruin us)

by perihelion (mattratat)



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: M/M, Myth AU, axel starring as the chaotic clown he's always been, but they're also ride or die right off the bat tbh, mythology AU, pining!sora, roadtrip au in a way, tags to be added as we go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-08-10 02:50:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20128141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mattratat/pseuds/perihelion
Summary: Sora’s kicked out of the heavens and it’s up to Riku to lead him home.But things can never be that easy.Or: Sora’s journey back to the sky, and the people he helps along the way.





	1. Roxas

**Author's Note:**

> before we get into the fic, i gotta get sappy real fast- 
> 
> for kristin, whose ideas basically became the plot. for nichi, who named it. for mari, whose art personally killed me. for the entire “on monsters inc” squad for being the most amazing and loving friends i could have ever asked for in this fandom. for soup, for being the best beta and friend. for aqua, who was the first to suggest the idea of a soriku myth au to me. for claudia, whose screaming keeps me alive. thank u all. i love all of u so much!! 
> 
> ok onto the gay shit-

In Sora’s defense, he didn’t  _ mean _ to fall out of the sky. 

He didn’t even  _ mean _ to fall into a pair of strong, muscular arms. The entire thing was completely accidental, but, well, he wasn’t going to complain about  _ that _ . 

The night had started like any other, with Sora among the clouds with Ven, getting ready to hang the stars in the sky.

Truth be told, hanging the stars wasn’t a task Sora particularly enjoyed. Still, he liked hanging out with Ventus, the wind spirit tasked with helping him, so he didn’t think it was too bad a gig. It was fun to throw the stars around, while Ven laughed and tried to chide him for messing up their intricate patterns. 

_ “The humans will notice,” _ Ven would try to tell him, but Sora just laughed. Ven was the one always sneaking out to meet with a servant of the Underworld when he thought Sora wouldn’t see, so his advice was always taken with a grain of salt. 

As it turned out, Ventus was right about the humans. Which was how Sora found himself falling out of the sky, wings pulled into his back, and scalding anger in his blood. 

_ It had started as a good night _ , he told himself, something like fear piercing his heart. How quickly it all went to shit. 

The wind rushed around him and he wondered if hitting the ground would be enough to kill him. Then again, he wasn’t even sure if he  _ could  _ die. He knew that old age and disease would never get him, but smacking into the ground at the speed of light? Who knew? Sora didn’t really want to find out.

As the stars and clouds flew past him, Sora reached a hand out, a pathetic attempt to try and grasp onto  _ something _ to keep him from hurtling towards the Earth at a thousand miles per hour. 

He thought he felt a hand grasping his and gasped, but it was gone just as quickly as he felt it. Still, he would know the weight of that hand in his anywhere.

_ Sorry, Ven _ , he thought, sadly,  _ Guess I just doubled your workload. _

To be honest, Sora felt that the fact that he was being punished, being sent down to Earth, was entirely unfair. It wasn’t like he didn’t take his job seriously- he did. It was just… he didn’t take it seriously all the time. Hanging the stars was  _ boring. _ They never got to make any changes, putting up the same constellations every night. It was monotonous. Where was the fun, the joy in that? What was the point? The humans looked to the stars for inspiration, so why shouldn’t they change it up for them? How could looking at the same thing every night be inspiring to anyone? 

He’d asked Ven this, once. Ventus had only laughed and shook his head, admitting that he didn’t really understand, either, but he figured they’d find out one day. Sora had been sorely disappointed because Ventus was a good deal older than he was, at least half a century or so, so Sora had kind of been expecting him to know. 

It didn’t help that Sora still wasn’t the best at flying, either. And he supposed he’d caught Yen Sid on a bad day, because the man had taken one look at Sora’s messed up constellations, his poor flying skills, and had immediately cast him out. He thought that that was rather harsh, but it was hard to argue with the Lord of the Skies. Especially as one’s wings were becoming too heavy to bear, pulling him down, down,  _ down _ until he was free falling with absolutely no control. 

_ “You are weak, Sora. You have yet to master the art of flying. You disrespect the stars. You lack the proper respect for tradition. You must seek out Master Eraqus of Earth,”  _ Yen Sid’s voice boomed in his ears, louder than even the wind, “ _ He will teach you respect for the stars and complete your training. Learn to fly and then you may return to us. _

Sora caught on a wind current, suddenly jerking to the side. Because there was no one around to hear him, he screamed. Yelped might be a better word, but just because Sora had lost his job didn’t mean he lost his pride. The tattered remains of it, anyways. 

In his heart, he knew that Ven had sent the current. Ven was probably peering down now, making sure Sora made it to Earth safely, without going  _ Splat!  _ on some poor soul’s cottage roof. Sora’s heart twisted as he thought about it. What he wouldn’t give to be able to thank him. 

He closed his eyes. He must be getting close to the Earth now. Gods, how long had he been falling? 

For a moment, he wondered what it would be like. How would the grass feel beneath his feet? Would it be soft? What were the humans like? 

Briefly, adventure flared to life in his chest. He closed his eyes, spreading his arms as if they were his wings, and let out a cry of something that sounded a little like pure adrenaline. 

He unfurled his wings, slowly as they pulled him down like lead, letting the air rip through his feathers as the sky roared around him.

But they were too heavy with the weight of Yen Sid’s magic pulling them to Earth, so he tucked them against his back, knowing they’d blend into his white tunic. 

He must be close now. He didn’t realize just how far the sky actually was from the Earth. He opened his eyes and they were as dark as the sky around him, cursed to reflect them for all eternity by blood. The stars looked so small now. It was beautiful, really. How had he never noticed that bef-

Then, all at once, his head snapped, a terribly painful and quick down and up, and there was something  _ around _ him, holding his back and under his knees and Sora shrieked like a child. 

He realized, at once, that he’d fallen into a pair of arms, and that the person was looking at him now. Eyes met and, all at once, Sora stopped screaming, blinking rapidly at the sight of sea colored eyes and long silver hair peering down at him now. 

It occurred to Sora that he’d just fallen into this man’s arms and that he should probably thank him. 

But then he was falling again, but it was a much shorter fall this time, and he hit the ground in mere seconds. 

“Ow!” Sora exclaimed, rubbing the back of his head where it had smacked into the dirt, frowning. “What was that for?” 

The man peered down at him, silhouetted against the bright stars and the moon behind him. The moonlight seemed to catch on his hair, lighting what appeared to be flowers twisted into his braids. For a moment, Sora forgot to be annoyed.

Then the man opened his mouth- his pretty, pouty mouth- and Sora remembered again. 

“You startled me,” he said, wrinkling his nose in a way that was cute  _ and _ irritating all at once. Amazing. “Do you normally scream in people’s faces when they catch you out of the sky?”

Sora could feel his face heating up, but he shook his head. 

“It’s not exactly the average Tuesday for me,” he admitted, sighing. 

“Are you going to sit up?” The stranger asked. His voice wasn’t unkind, necessarily, but it wasn’t exactly friendly, either. 

Sora, albeit sheepishly, sat up. He felt something under his hands as he did so, realizing that he could feel it on his bare arms, poking at him. But it was a soft, itchy poke that was entirely unfamiliar. 

He stared at the ground under him, poking at him, and asked, “Is this grass?”

Above him, the man blinked in surprise. “Uh, yes?” 

Sora laughed. The anger at being thrown out faded as he ran his hand through the grass, feeling each of the tiny blades brushing his fingertips before bending and giving way to the next one. 

“It’s soft,” he mused, grinning. 

“You’re not from around here, are you?” The stranger with the strong arms asked.

“You could say that,” Sora said. Words of home leapt to his throat, but he bit them back just as quickly. He didn’t know this man and he’d heard stories of the spirits cast out of the sky, the ones that didn’t return. 

Still, he felt like he could trust him, but Sora didn’t know why. 

The man sighed. He sounded resigned, but Sora couldn’t fathom why. If anyone had any right to sound resigned, it was Sora. He was the one miles below home, after all, in an entirely new world. 

He noticed then the awkward bend in the man’s wrist. He frowned. It looked like an old break, one that hadn’t quite healed right. 

“Does it hurt?” Sora asked, nodding towards the wrist. 

The man frowned, following Sora’s gaze down, grabbing his wrist absentmindedly. “Sometimes.” 

“Here,” Sora said, moving without thinking. 

Swiftly, he reached behind his back, ignoring the question forming on the stranger’s lips, plucking a feather from his tucked wings. He winced at the small sting, but he was sure it was nothing compared to the aches of a poorly healed bone. 

He could see the questioning gaze in Riku’s eyes, but ignored it, instead finally taking the few final steps to catch up to him. He took Riku’s hand in his, thumbing his wrist, feeling the spot where the bone had broken and healed itself, miraculously, but poorly. 

And he breathed out once, feeling the energy slowly leave him, flowing from his fingertips and into the feather as it started to glow. Dust, or maybe glitter, seemed to flow from the shaft, coating the wrist, sinking into Riku’s flesh. To Sora, it lasted a lifetime, watching another piece of his magic- of  _ him- _ leave to heal another, but in reality, it only lasted seconds. 

Under his thumb, he could feel the bone reworking itself, stitching back together in the way it should have long ago. He could feel Riku trembling in his grip as the magic worked and for a moment, Sora was afraid he’d given him a bit of a scare. 

But the last remnants of the feather faded into Riku’s skin and the feather crumbled to dust in Sora’s hand. 

“There you go,” Sora said, letting go of Riku’s hand and smiling. 

Riku clutched his hand to his chest, staring at it in wonder. A choked sound escaped his lips and Sora’s heart leaped with his, instantly afraid that he’d done something wrong. 

But Riku just looked at him, eyes meeting as if for the first time again, and there was something like understanding in his gaze.

And he asked, 

“Are you hungry?” 

* * *

  
  


The man, it turned out, was named Riku. And Sora already liked him a whole lot. 

There was a forest between them and wherever it was that Riku was taking him. Sora’s distrust had gone straight out the window at the first mention of food because, really, all that falling  _ did _ make a nymph’s stomach growl something fierce. And he didn’t seem like the kind of person who would want to steal Sora’s feathers and kill him in his sleep when he saw the wings, so Sora had discarded his caution with ease, heels bouncing on the grass as he took in everything around him.

The trees were beautiful, but Sora had mixed feelings about them. They blocked out the moonlight and the stars, but there was something energetic about the dark that exhilarated him, making his eyes go wide and curious. Some of these leaves crunched in his hand and they made him laugh, while others were soft and gave to his touch. 

There was so much to see, so much to touch and smell, that it was a little overwhelming as they made their way through the trees, over the roots and across a single stream. Sora had far too much fun with the stream, insisting on spending at least a few extra minutes splashing in it, amazed at how the water just… surrounded them, taking them in immediately. There was nothing like it in the sky, really. Sure, they had water, but it rarely bothered them, simply falling from the clouds and minding its own business. 

“What, have you never seen a river before?” Riku joked. 

Sora hadn’t, but he wasn’t going to tell Riku that. Instead, he just grinned and rubbed the back of his neck, shrugging. “They’re fun.”

Riku seemed to accept that answer and they moved on. 

The forest was magical, he decided, divine or not. 

And then there was Riku. He walked beside Sora through it all, not commenting on anything unless Sora spoke to him first. At first, Sora found this a little strange, but it quickly clicked that Riku just didn’t want to interrupt his glee. 

But he walked with him, never chiding Sora for stopping to examine a flower or insect, but there to answer his endless and probably annoying questions. 

It was the first time Sora could remember having fun, real fun, in longer than he was willing to admit to himself. 

He wasn’t sure where they were going or even how long they’d been walking for, but he almost didn’t want to reach their destination. 

“Hey, Riku?” He asked, for the hundredth time. 

“Hm?” Riku answered, ocean eyes flitting back to meet Sora’s. 

“I noticed something,” Sora said. 

“Surprising,” Riku snorted. 

Sora glared at him for a moment and Riku held his hands up in surrender. Sora was always quick to forgiveness, though, so the glare melted from his eyes easily. “We haven’t seen any flowers like the ones in your hair once. Why is that?” 

Sora had kept an eye out, but they’d yet to see a single flower that even came close to the purple and pink hues of the ones braided into Riku’s hair. 

Riku tensed, so quickly that Sora’s eyes couldn’t quite register the seconds before and after he seemed to freeze, despite the fact that he was still walking. It was like watching a statue walk as he took the lead and Sora scrambled to keep up. 

“My flowers don’t grow around here,” he said, simply, but he refused to meet Sora’s eyes as he said it. 

Sora opened his mouth to speak, but closed it just as quickly. Riku’s shoulders were squared; he wasn’t going to get any more answers out of him on this subject.

So Sora let it drop, instead choosing to stray behind him and admire the way the moonlight broke through the canopy of trees just to make Riku’s hair shine. He’d always been distracted easily in the sky, so why should Earth be any different? Especially when there was so much more to look at now. 

But thinking of the sky made his heart ache, so he shoved the thought of it away and looked around for something new on the forest floor to catch his eye. 

As it turned out, he didn’t need to look for much longer, because up ahead, there was an opening in the trees. If that wasn’t their destination, then Sora was going to seriously consider ditching Riku and setting out to find Eraqus as quickly as possible. The promise of dinner had been nice, but there was an urgency breathing down the back of his neck like none other. It was slow to find him, this anxiety, but like all miserable things did, it was going to catch up eventually. 

Riku, as if reading his thoughts, said, “It’s not much farther, just beyond that clearing. My tr- my place is just over there.” 

Sora could feel his cheeks reddening, wondering briefly if he’d spoken aloud after all. Still, Riku didn’t seem mad at all, so he supposed this just must be something he had to say a lot. Or he really could read minds, but Sora was really hoping for one of the first two. 

“Oh, cool,” he said, because he didn’t really know what else to say. 

Around them, the forest was thinning, the leaves becoming scarcer. The bark was darker, and there was sharp scent in the air, like death. 

“What happened to them?” Sora asked, sadness carved into the slow slump of his shoulders. 

Riku looked at him, his eyes sharp. “Fire.” 

That didn’t seem like the entire answer, but Sora nodded anyways. He fell silent once more, eyes scraping over the burned trees until finally, they emerged from the forest. 

The field in front of them was empty, with the forest continuing a few hundred feet on the other side. The grass rustled as the wind, no longer hindered by the presence of trees, pushed against them. 

And then Sora blinked, and it wasn’t just a field anymore. Where he could have sworn he’d seen nothing but grass, there were several small wooden houses. There was a fire burning by one of them, a man crouching and poking at the sticks with a flame. There was something sad, something heavy and sagging in the way he held himself that made Sora’s heart ache for him without any good cause. 

He glanced up to look at them, eyes narrowed, and Sora’s eyes widened comically at the face he saw. 

“Ven?” He asked, jaw slack as he stared at the near duplicate of his friend. The only difference was that this boy’s eyes were bright blue and Ven’s could never be this bright during the night. Had it been the middle of the day, however, they would have been identical. 

Instead of answering, the man who couldn’t possibly  _ be _ Ventus but looked  _ exactly like him _ turned to Riku, an accusatory glare etched into his high cheekbones and pouty lips. “Who the hell is this?” 

“This is-” And then Riku stopped short, probably realizing that Sora had never told him his name. Riku had introduced himself, but Sora had fallen short of returning the favor, too caught up in the forest to care about trivial things like his name. 

“Sora,” he offered now, because Riku clearly seemed to be in trouble with not-Ventus, and that didn’t seem fair. “I’m Sora! It’s nice to meet you.”

Not-Ventus turned his gaze back to Sora for only a moment, but Sora could see the way he looked him up and down, eyes concentrated in the way only a hunter’s could be. Sora wasn’t a danger to them, but under that sharp stare, he couldn’t think of the words to assure the stranger of that. 

“We can trust him,” Riku said, forcefully, but his entire body was tense beside Sora’s. “I promise.” 

“Your promises don’t mean much to me,” the man replied, but he visibly relaxed. Not much, just enough for Sora to notice, but he took it as a good sign. “But fine. It’s nice to meet you, Sora.”

Sora beamed at him. He’d so rarely had the chance to make new friends in the sky and, honestly, meeting two new people in one day was thrilling. He thrived off company, whenever he could find it. 

Riku began walking again, the permission to approach the campfire and the huts apparently granted at some point during the conversation. Sora was plenty happy to get closer, though, because the wind was cold against his bare arms and he could practically feel the warmth of the fire just from looking at it. 

Riku seemed to be having the same idea because he made a beeline for the fire, holding his hands beside it. Sora copied his motions, thrilled to feel the heat of it sizzling against his palms. 

He turned his gaze to the man still poking the fire with a stick. 

Now that he was close, he could see the differences between this stranger and Ventus. For starters, Sora had never seen Ven’s under-eyes this dark before nor was he ever this pale. Frankly, this man looked like a sickly version of his friend. 

“What’s your name?” Sora asked. 

He looked at him, blue eyes narrowed in suspicion, hesitating to answer the question. 

“Roxas,” he said. Sora noted another difference between Roxas and Ventus; Roxas didn’t have the slight lisp that Ven did. 

Roxas, despite his initial resistance to Sora’s presence, turned out to be surprisingly friendly. Despite the late hour, he’d apparently been cooking dinner for himself and Riku at the fire and was more than happy to split the soup into three portions to share with Sora. 

As they ate the surprisingly tasty soup that Roxas had prepared, Sora got to know the pair a little better. The conversation dissolved into something of a shallow twenty questions game, no one offering anything more personal than their favorite color (Roxas, he learned, like red the best, while Riku thought blue was especially pretty), but it was fun nonetheless. 

Through the anecdotes the two supplied, Sora learned about the area he’d fallen to, the most notable piece of geography being a mountain several villages away. When he asked how high it was, Roxas had grinned and said, “High enough to reach the heavens,” and Sora had set his sights on it. If he was to find Master Eraqus, he knew in his heart that it would be at the top of that mountain. 

He had tried to press further about the mountain itself, trying to gauge how to get there more than anything, but the most he could get out of them that it was a long journey, one that not many people braved. That didn’t exactly lift Sora’s spirits, but he was at least glad to have found some sort of direction. And it also confirmed his suspicions; Masters were often known for hiding out of the most ridiculous places, only awarding their company to those daring enough to make the journey. 

Sora, who saw a potential friend in everyone, couldn’t even begin to imagine living like that. 

“Hey, other than this guy,” Roxas started, yawning before continuing, “did you see anything noteworthy out in the woods?” 

Sora pouted about being called ‘this guy’ but Roxas noticed and grinned at him. The grin was menacing under the glare of the flame, but Sora knew that it was just a trick of the light. 

Riku shook his head. “No sign of them. They must have gone West, it’s the only possibility.”

“Who?” Sora asked, never one to contain his curiosity. 

Riku and Roxas shared a look, as if Sora wasn’t sitting across from them to see it. Sora’s frown deepened.

“Don’t worry about it,” Riku said at the same time Roxas said, “It’s nothing.” 

They glared at each other. 

Sora pushed his spoon around in his bowl. It was clear that they didn’t want to talk about it, so fine. They’d been kind enough to let him into their home (well, next to it, technically, but that was neither here nor there), so he wouldn’t press them for information they clearly didn’t want to share with him. 

That didn’t stop his curiosity from digging a hole right into his chest, but that was manageable. 

“Hey, Sora, how much do you know about sheep?” Roxas asked. 

“Not much,” Sora said, despite the fact that Riku was shaking his head with the speed of a madman on the other side of the fire.

Roxas’ grin turned devilishe as he launched into a long winded explanation of their grazing patterns that felt entirely random to Sora, but he was happy to listen regardless. 

He noticed, as bowls were emptied and the fire began to dwindle, that Roxas had to stop talking every few minutes to cough into his arm. He couldn’t help but wonder what was wrong with him, looking for the lull in the conversation to heal him with a feather, but it never seemed like the right time to butt in and, before he knew it, Roxas was stretching weakly and bidding them goodnight. 

“Riku, you brought him, you share your bed with him,” Roxas yawned as he started to walk away. 

Sora, who hadn’t even considered where he’d be sleeping that night, blinked in surprise. 

“Don’t worry,” Riku said, quickly, “You can have the cot. I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“You really don’t have to-” Sora started as Riku stood, wiping dust off his pants. 

“It’s not a problem,” Riku interrupted, “Come on, it’s the one over there.”

So Sora stood, following Riku into one of the small huts. It was dark, dark enough that he had to squint to try and make out shapes as his eyes adjusted. 

“It’s there,” Riku said, pointing towards the cot-like shape in the corner of the room. 

“Really, I wouldn’t mind sleeping on the floor,” Sora said, but he could just make out Riku shaking his head. 

So to the cot he went, flopping onto it rather unceremoniously. 

It was late, but he was used to being up at ridiculous hours, thanks to the nature of his job, so despite closing his eyelids as tightly as he could, sleep evaded him.

Instead, his mind was filled with too many thoughts, all fighting for his attention at once, a symphony intent on drowning him in misery. He thought of Yen Sid casting him out, his cruel and judging eyes fixed on Sora as he threw him from the sky. He thought of Ven, wondering if he was lonely putting up the stars without Sora. And he thought of the doubt creeping into his mind. What if the mountain Roxas had mentioned wasn’t where Eraqus dwelled? What would he do then? 

He couldn’t stop thinking. He needed a distraction. 

Into the dark, Sora asked, “What’s wrong with Roxas?” 

Riku didn’t answer at first. In fact, he took so long to reply that Sora was starting to wonder if he’d fallen asleep. Finally, though, Sora heard a sharp intake of breath. “You’re not from Earth, are you?”

Sort snorted. “What gave it away? The feather or the falling from the sky?” 

“A little bit of both,” Riku replied. “So, despite the fact that we just met, I guess it’s probably safe to tell you that Roxas and I aren’t exactly human.” 

Sora wasn’t entirely surprised, truth be told. He nodded before realizing that Riku couldn’t see it. “Okay.”

“The human word for us is usually nymphs,” Riku explained. “Forest creatures. Tree dwellers. The likes. Do you follow?” 

“Yeah,” Sora said. 

“Good. So, we don’t actually need to be with a tree to live. We move from tree to tree, forest to forest, typically, because we can, to spread roots and see the world. But while we’re… communing with a tree, we become its lifeforce and it becomes ours.” 

“Makes sense.” 

“Good. Roxas and I have lived here, with others of our kind, for about a year now? And we didn’t… we didn’t realize the humans were nearby,” Riku continued, his words catching in his throat. Sora wished he could see him, to be able read his expression, but it was too dark to even make out shapes now. “And one day, I was out with the sheep and when I came back, the humans were…”

As his voice trailed off, Sora felt his heart clench in his chest. “It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me.” 

“No, it’s fine,” Riku assured him, but his words were stronger than his voice was. He sounded, Sora realized, guilty. But he continued the story nonetheless. “The humans were burning down the forest. And Roxas, he was trying to save his tree. He tried  _ so hard _ but… there was nothing he could do. And by the time he finally severed his connection to the tree, it had nearly killed him, too.” 

“That’s awful,” Sora said, rage boiling in the pit of his stomach on behalf of his new friend. Roxas had seemed so nice at dinner, so quick to share his food and friendship with Sora. He didn’t deserve that. 

“It was,” Riku said, quietly. “It still is. I’m not sure he’ll ever be fully himself again.”

Sora stayed quiet for a moment, thinking over his next question. He opened his mouth, closing it again, before finally gathering the words to ask, “Why didn’t you tell him about the feather, then? About me? I could easily-”

Riku cut him off, startling Sora. He wasn’t used to being interrupted. “I didn’t want to get his hopes up. And I didn’t want to put you in a position where you’d feel obligated to help.” 

Sora’s frown deepened even if Riku couldn’t see it. “Of course I’m going to help him. First thing in the morning.”

With his lifeforce quite literally burned out of him like that, it would probably take two or three feathers to completely heal him. Sora’s magic wasn’t perfect, after all, but enough of it could heal almost any wound. 

“Sora,” Riku said. 

When nothing further came, Sora asked, “Yes?” 

“Thank you,” Riku said, his voice sounding oddly raspier, but Sora chalked it up to his imagination. 

“Good night, Riku,” Sora simply said, his voice cheerful as always. 

* * *

He woke slowly, eyes blinking open to darkness, soft light slowly beginning to pour through the entrance. It was strange, because he didn’t know where he was, but he was too sleepy to care. He could worry about it after a few more hours of sleep. It was probably Ven’s fault, anyways. Sora attributed most faults in his life to Ven, so surely his friend would wander in eventually and explain what was going on once it was a reasonable hour. 

As he drifted in and out of sleep for a few minutes, the pieces began to fall back into place. No, he realized, waking with a jolt, Ventus would not be coming to tell him where he was. 

Because he was in a stranger’s hut on  _ Earth _ , thousands of miles below his home. 

Sora sat up suddenly, breathing getting quicker as he clutched at the blanket. 

The harsh daylight streaming through the window in the corner made everything feel so much more  _ real.  _ He’d been cast out. He’d really been thrown out and for what? To discover new powers? To learn? He felt like he couldn’t breathe as his limbs began to fill with lead, dragging him down, down,  _ down- _

The door opened. 

Riku didn’t seem to see how distressed Sora was because he said, “Oh, good, you’re up. Come on out, I made breakfast.” 

* * *

Healing Roxas was a surprisingly uneventful task. Sora had grabbed three feathers off his wings, wincing slightly at the pain of pulling them out, and had grabbed Roxas’ hand when he wasn’t paying attention. The blond had sputtered for a moment before eyes grew wide as the feathers began to glow and life seemed to seep its way back into Roxas’ bones. His skin regained color, cheeks pinker than Sora was expecting. He seemed to grow taller, too, but that might have just been his posture correcting itself after months of misuse by slouching. 

“What?” Roxas breathed, staring at his hands with awe in his eyes, flexing his fingers slowly as his gaze shifted to Sora’s. 

Sora smiled at him. “Do you feel better now?”

“I…” Roxas, it seemed, was completely flabbergasted. “How did you…”

Sora pressed a finger to his lips. “It’s a secret.”

Roxas blinked. “You’re-”

Sora shushed him again. “Really, though, did it work? Do you feel better?”

“I… do,” Roxas nodded, surprise flashing across his face at his own words. Slowly, a shy grin began to spread across his face, transforming his face into a caricature of joy. “I do!”

Sora beamed at him. Roxas took his hands in his excitement, pulling them both upwards as he jumped into the air without the weight of a dying curse. Sora couldn’t even begin to imagine how badly he’d wanted this, but he could see it in the new fervor behind Roxas’ movements, in the way his eyes seemed to glow in the sunlight now. 

“He fixed my wrist, too,” Riku supplied, giving Roxas a pointed look. Roxas just grinned back at him in response. “So I’m going to help him get to Mount Kamory.” 

Sora turned to him, gaping in surprise. How could he have possibly known-

Riku seemed to read the question on his lips, shrugging. “You talk in your sleep.” 

Sora closed his mouth, opening it again and repeated the motion several times before he could really find any words to say. “I… do?”

Riku nodded. 

“I’ll come, too,” Roxas said quickly, but Riku was shaking his head. 

“No, you need to continue searching for the others. I’ll meet up with you when we’re done, it won’t take more than a month or so,” Riku told him, sounding so sure of himself that Sora couldn’t help but stare at him.

Riku seemed taller than life as he spoke, the sun reflecting off his silver hair in a direct attempt to blind Sora with his light 

Sora felt tears pricking at the back of his eyes. “You don’t have to do that.”

Riku shook his head again. “No, I do. It’s a good start to repaying your kindness.”

“I-“

“You saved my friend’s life, Sora,” Riku said, as if Sora could have forgotten in such a short time. “Unless you don’t want me to come?”

“No! No that’s not it!” Sora said quickly, hands waving madly to emphasize his point. 

Roxas looked like he wanted to protest himself. “I should-“

Riku put a hand on his shoulder, shaking his head. “They need you.”

“They need you, too,” Roxas muttered. 

Riku shook his head. “Nah.”

“Well, at least let me go with you for a little while. We both need to start going East, after all.”

This seemed agreeable enough to Riku. 

“When should we leave?” Roxas’ question was directed at Riku. 

“Immediately.” 

——

And so they had, leaving just an hour or so after Riku’s declaration. 

On the first day, the journey was uneventful. Sora found himself joking with Roxas and Riku as they walked, enjoying their company very much. It had been awhile since he’d met anyone new to talk to and he found both of them absolutely fascinating. Roxas, he found, was more cheerful than his initial reception had suggested. He was hilarious, too, making both Sora and Riku laugh at every chance. 

And Riku. 

Riku was something else entirely. 

Sora couldn’t quite pinpoint what exactly it was about Riku that fascinated him so much. 

He was determined to find out before they reached the top of the mountain. 

* * *

On the second day, they parted ways with Roxas at the edge of the forest, and he hugged them both goodbye. Sora found that he was actually going to miss him as they wished each other good luck on their respective journeys. Roxas had pulled Riku in for a group hug, instructing him and Sora to take care of each other. They’d all laughed and then, with a flash of green, Roxas was gone. 

On the third day, Riku started to talk to him more. It turned out that boredom was the best supplier of friendship on the road. They talked for the entirety of the days traveling, finally setting up camp at the edge of a small town.

In the distance, Mount Kamory looked as far away as it had on the first day. It loomed over them constantly. Sora stayed optimistic, though. 

They would reach it soon enough. And then he could go home again. 

On the fourth day, Sora slipped while they were crossing a bridge and it occurred to him, as his head went under the river, that he’d never bothered to learn how to swim. He’d thrashed under the water, making the mistake of desperately trying to suck in air underwater, paying for it dearly as water poured into his lungs, dragging him even deeper under. He could still see the light of the surface streaming down as he sunk deeper, fear clutching at his heart as he began to get light headed. For a moment, he felt, with absolute clarity, the fear of a man about to die.

And then Riku’s strong arms were around him from behind, pulling him up towards to surface and Sora’s head broke through the water. He gasped for air as Riku pulled him to shore, where they both lay for several minutes, desperately trying to catch their breath. 

“Thanks,” Sora sputtered, spouting water everywhere in the process. 

“Don’t mention it,” Riku said, wheezing nearly as bad as Sora.

“I don’t know how to swim,” Sora admitted, even though it was kind of obvious at this point. 

Riku nodded, wincing as he sat up. Sora followed his line of sight, gasping at the sight of blood coming from his companion’s leg.

“I must have scraped it when I jumped in,” Riku murmured.

Sora was moving before he could really think about it, pulling a feather out and healing Riku before he could even try to protest it. 

Riku stared at him. 

“Sora,” he said. 

Sora shrugged it off quickly, falling back onto his back. “You were hurt.”

Riku’s staring continued. Sora tried to keep himself from shrinking under his ridiculously pretty green eyes. 

“Why don’t we call it a day?” Riku suggested, trying to hide how hard he was still panting. “It’s getting late. And besides, this would be a good spot to try and teach you how to swim.”

Sora glared at him as he laughed. It was impossible, though, not to join in. 

* * *

It was several more days of walking, walking, and even more walking before they ran into trouble. 

Sora didn’t really mind all the walking. He wanted to fly, of course, but he found quickly that his wings were too heavy to unfurl. It was infuriating, but he grit his teeth and traveled on foot like he was born for it. 

“So-“ Sora was saying, before he was cut off by his own yelp as Riku’s hand slapped itself over his mouth, arms pulling him back against a tree.

“Stay still,” Riku hissed, hand clamped over Sora’s mouth. “Be quiet.”

Sora went limp in Riku’s grasp. He tried to not think about how this was the second time in as many days that he’d been trapped in those stupidly muscular arms. 

_ Not the time, _ he desperately tried to tell himself.

Riku’s hand lowered, but Sora stayed quiet regardless, still feeling the weight of it against his lips. 

He listened harder now, catching the sound of a far off voice. He couldn’t imagine how Riku had heard it through his ramblings. 

“So,” a girl was saying, like Sora had been just mere seconds ago, “I heard rumors of forest nymphs in this area. Healing powers, even.”

Through the trees, Sora could just barely make out several figures standing in the clearing they were headed straight for.

“Hunters,” Riku murmured, barely loud enough for Sora to hear him.

Sora tensed. He didn’t know what exactly they were hunting, but Riku was clearly on guard, which meant that he should be too. 

“Good,” a second, male voice replied. “Healing powers are the rarest on the market. We’ll make a killing.”

“But they’re so boring,” another piped in, his voice drawling and pouty. “Why can’t we ever hunt fire nymphs? I’d much rather get my hands on their power.”

“Because they don’t exist, dumbass,” yet another voice chimed in. Just how many of them were there? 

_ What are we going to do? _ Sora thought, desperately trying to think of a way around them. 

He looked to his right and nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw a woman standing in the brush, not even ten feet away. Her eyes widened as he met them, clearly just as surprised to see them as he was to see her. 

She nodded towards the clearing in front of him, probably indicating the hunters.

Sora shrugged, the universal gesture of  _ yeah I don’t know those guys but they sure don’t seem nice, right?  _

She turned, impossibly silent. Glancing over her shoulder, she gestured for them to follow her before disappearing into the trees.

It was as good an escape as any, so Sora grabbed Riku’s hand and bolted. 

They ran through the forest after her, praying silently that the hunters weren’t following. Sora didn’t know where she was leading them, but it had to be better than the alternative. 

When they were far enough away, Riku stalled in place, holding onto Sora’s hand still, causing him to do the same. 

The woman paused, turning to face them. 

“Who are you?” Riku demanded. “Why did you save us?”

Sora had half a mind to chide him for not thanking her first, considering she helped them escape and all, but the woman’s shrug caught his attention first. 

“My name is Aqua,” she said, staring up at him with eyes full of determination. “And you wouldn’t happen to know how to get to the Underworld, would you?” 


	2. Aqua

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no regular updates we drop chapters in the middle of the night like the fools we are- 
> 
> anyways, as always, thanks to the amazing soup for beta-ing!!!
> 
> and thanks to all of you for the amazing support on the first chapter, it really means the world to me!!

Riku, as it turned out, did know a way to reach hell. 

Sora was torn between awe and surprise, but then again, the two did go hand in hand. Most of all, it was a reminder that, even though it felt like it, he didn’t really know Riku all that well. 

Three hours after this revelation, Sora found himself sitting around a campfire with Riku, who apparently knew how to get to the underworld, and their new best friend Aqua, who desperately needed to get there. 

They had taken the long way around the woods, finding it better to tack on a few hours to their journey rather than risk running into the hunters again. 

Neither Aqua nor Riku would answer Sora’s questions about the hunters (who they were, what they were hunting- though he could at least guess the answer to that), claiming they would explain when they made camp for the night. To Sora, that sounded like complete bullshit, but he kept his mouth shut for the time being. 

“This seems like a good place to call it a night,” Aqua finally said once they’re reached a rather nondescript chunk of the forest. 

As they set up, Sora held his silence, not wanting to annoy either of them, but the questions rested on the tip of his tongue, desperate to escape his lips. Who were the hunters? Were they really as much of a threat as both Riku and Aqua seemed to think they were? 

Sora had wanted to ambush her with questions immediately, but Riku beat him to it. Riku was a menacing sight as he stood over the campfire, towering over both Sora and Aqua by several inches, hands on his hips as he stared the woman down. 

“Why do you want to go to the Underworld?” He asked. 

Sora thought Riku should be more trusting. 

Aqua deflated a little at the question, but she regained her previous gall and posture quickly enough that Sora wasn’t entirely sure that he hadn’t imagined it. 

“My husband’s dead,” Aqua said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Sora sucked in a breath. 

Even Riku blinked in surprise at the blunt statement. “I’m so-”

“Sorry,” Sora finished for him. 

Riku glanced at Sora out of the corner of his eye before turning his focus back to Aqua. Finally, he sat down, joining them on the ground. Sora, shrinking under gaze, tossed him an apple. 

“Which is, frankly, a load of bullshit, so I’m going to get him back,” Aqua said. 

Determination was practically rolling off of her in waves, blue eyes reflecting the fire before her and Sora knew, with absolute certainty, that he would be happy to follow her into the depths of Hell. She wouldn’t fail. 

“How?” Riku asked, but his tone of voice suggested that he was just as in awe of her as Sora was. “Mortals can’t possibly survive down there. 

Aqua shugged as she sat down, knees pulled to her chest. Sora took her lead and followed suit, tucking his feet under his knees. 

“I’m a student of Eraqus,” she said, “I have my ways.” 

Sora perked up at that. Eraqus… that was the name of the man Yen Sid bade him to find. Could it really be the same…? 

Before he could ask, though, Riku spoke again, “So you want to bring him back? Is that even possible?”

Once again, Aqua shrugged. “Truthfully… I don’t know. But I have to try.”

Sora could understand that. “What happened?” 

He didn’t realize that the question was rude until Riku shot him a look. 

“You don’t have to answ-” he started, but Aqua cut him off as Sora’s ears twinged red with shame. 

He hadn’t realized how hard this must be for her as is. He didn’t mean to dredge up painful memories. 

“No, it’s alright,” she said, waving off Riku’s concerns. “I like your curiosity…. Sora, right? And, besides, it’s not permanent.” 

Sora appreciated her confidence. He hadn’t seen anything like it before and it was fascinating. 

“But, long story short, he was murdered.” 

Sora audibly gasped, covering his mouth immediately. He tried to ignore the look Riku was shooting him. “Murdered?”

Aqua’s smile was bittersweet as she nodded. “Yes. Terra… he was working on a mission for Eraqus when a group of hunters surrounded him, or so the witness told me. He tried to fight them all off, I’m sure he did…. But they thought he was a nymph, or something. They would have fought tooth and nail for his powers, even though he doesn’t have any… And, well, there was no way he could have held them all off.” 

“I’m so sorry,” Sora said, quickly wiping a tear from his eyes. He didn’t mean to get emotional, but he couldn’t help it; she just sounded so  _ sad. _ Sad enough that he didn’t even think to ask about the hunters she mentioned- could they be the same ones as before? Instead of asking, he blurted out, “But you can count on us to help you! Right, Riku?” 

Riku looked a little startled by Sora’s sudden proclamation, but he nodded quickly regardless. “Of course. It isn’t too far off our path. I can take you.”

Aqua smiled at them, but it still didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Thank you. It truly means the world to me. How will I ever repay you?”

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that,” Sora dismissed her question without a second thought. “You need help. It would be wrong for us to ask anything of you.” 

Riku hesitated across the fire, a short, miniscule moment that Sora barely noticed, but he nodded. 

She poked at the fire with a stick, yawning. “I might call it a night soon. It’s been a long day, but I’m glad I ran into you two.” 

Sora returned her smile. He wondered for a moment if it was too late to bring up the hunters… no, the moment had passed. He would ask them about it in the morning.

“So how long, exactly, does it take to get to the Underworld?” He asked.

Riku thought for a moment, before saying, “From here? Probably a day’s journey, two at the most.” 

“That's convenient,” Sora muttered. 

Riku nodded. “There’s an entrance every hundred miles or so; it makes it easier for the demons to collect souls. We’ve been traveling towards it all day.”

“Oh.” 

“Every hundred miles or so? How do they collect the souls?” Aqua asked, leaning forward. 

Riku blinked, taken aback. “I- I don’t know. It’s mostly just rumors… I’ve just been to this one, that’s why I know about it.”

“Hmm,” Aqua hummed, leaning back again. Riku let out a breath. “I wonder…” 

“Maybe you’ll get a chance to ask them!” Sora chimed in cheerfully. 

“Hopefully not,” Riku scowled. “Avoiding demons is rule number one, Sora.” 

Sora deflated a little at that, but recovered quickly. “Okay, okay. Noted.” 

“All right, that’s enough,” Aqua said, standing. She brushed the dirt off her thighs, nodding to both of them. “It’s going to be a long day tomorrow, it’s best we get to bed.”

Sora couldn’t help but agree.

* * *

Hours later, Sora was staring up at the stars, unable to sleep. 

Sora listened for the sound of Aqua’s deepened breathing, making sure she was asleep before he whispered, “Hey, Riku?”

He got a hum in response. 

“Sorry for volunteering you to help,” Sora said. “It wasn’t fair of me- you only offered to help me, after all, and here I go dragging you into something e-”

“Sora,” Riku hissed, cutting him off, “It’s okay. I want to help her anyways.” 

Sora breathed a sigh of relief as the weight that had settled on his heart hours before finally faded away. “Really?” 

“Really,” Riku murmured, his voice barely louder than the wind. Sora smiled despite the fact that Riku couldn’t see it in the darkness. “I want to help.”

“Thanks, Riku,” Sora whispered into the darkness. 

He reaches his hand out, stretching it as far as he could. It was a longshot, but he was tired and not thinking straight and there was a stupid hope festering in his heart that couldn’t be satiated. 

To Sora’s surprise, and joy, Riku looped his pinky through his. It wasn’t much, but it was something, and Sora cherished it. 

That night, Sora fell asleep with a smile on his face.

* * *

The entrance to the Underworld, as it turned out, was surprisingly easy to find after a day’s journey. Sora was annoyed, however, by the sheer number of stairs it seemed to involve.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Riku asked, giving them both one last out before they descended. 

Aqua nodded, fierce determination flairing to life in her eyes. “I’m sure.” 

Sora nodded, too, but it didn’t feel nearly as cool as when Aqua did it. 

The descent in itself wasn’t that big of a deal. It was horrifically claustrophobic and dark, sure, and he was pretty sure that those were bones stuck between the rocks that made the walls, but Sora was more worried about how much it was going to suck going back up. If only he could unfurl his wings...

They were only a few dozen feet down when he started to miss seeing the sky. 

“How deep is it…?” Aqua asked. She had gone first, with Sora taking the middle and Riku covering their backs. 

Sora could hear the shrug in Riku’s voice as he answered. “I’m not sure. I’ve never been brave enough to come down here alone.” 

She nodded. “Understandable. It’s so creepy.”

Riku snorted. “Understatement of the century.” 

Sora had to agree.

It did feel like the stairs went down just a little short of forever. 

“I’m over being creeped out,” Sora whined, a little over an hour after they began their descent. There were still miles of stairs below them and frankly he was completely over it. It wasn’t like anyone else was trying to break into the Underworld; being this deep seemed like overkill. “Now I’m just tired. Are we there yet?”

Ironically, as soon as he said that, his feet finally hit solid ground. Around him, the world seemed to wave in and out of focus; where miles of stairs had continued below him, there was only solid dirt, and where the rock walls had gone down, down, down, there was a dark, empty cavern in front of them. 

“What is this?” he asked, breathless. 

“Welcome to the Underworld,” Riku said dryly. 

Aqua took off in front of them. Sora snapped out of his trance and rushed to keep up with her. 

The cavern was dark enough that, even with their torch, they couldn’t see the walls on either side of them nor could they see the ceiling. The darkness was unnerving, making Sora’s skin crawl with every step they took. The air was still, despite the fact that they were in a tunnel. Everything about the place felt like a tomb and Sora despised it. 

“Is it ever going to end?” Sora moaned. It felt like they had been walking forever, even though the lack of daylight made it impossible to know how much time had truly passed. 

“It has to,” Aqua said as the same time Riku said, “It will.”

Sora laughed at them, but the sound felt wrong in this dark and dreary cave, and it echoed off the unseen walls with a sinister hiss, like it was mocking them. 

“God, it can’t be that much longer, can it?” He murmured. 

Above them, suddenly enough that it made Sora almost jump out of his skin, a voice boomed. “Gods, Vanitas, that’s enough. Can you stop messing with them?”

Wait.

Was that…? 

“Fine,” another voice drawled, playing up their annoyance as they dragged the word out, “Let there be light, or whatever.” 

Suddenly, light filled the cavern around them, making both Aqua and Riku jump in surprise and, honestly, Sora wasn’t sure which one of them let out the high pitched squeak, but it sure as hell wasn’t him. 

(Well, maybe it was.)

“What the fuck?” Riku whispered. 

Sora blinked rapidly, desperately trying to adjust to the sudden brightness. He could barely register that they were in a large, cavernous room. The walls were made of black rock, with magma pulsing through the cracks. Was that a fire hazard? 

In the center of the room was a bright, white throne and Sora started as he realized that it was made of  _ bones. _ Even more alarming, though, was the man who sat on the throne, glaring down at them like they were inconveniencing him just by being there. His dark hair and black suit were a stark contrast to the white throne, but they definitely fit the general atmosphere of the room. 

And next to him was- 

“Hi, Sora!” Ventus said cheerfully, waving at him from where he was sitting on one of the arms of the throne. “What’re you doing here?”

“You know this guy?” Riku hissed, side-eyeing Sora.

“Yeah?” Sora answered because, really, he thought it was obvious. 

Then he blinked and Ven wasn’t sitting on the throne anymore, but was instead standing right in front of him, and he yelped and jumped back from the shock. 

“Wait, how did you-”

Ventus waved off his questions, joy sparkling in his green eyes. “Space is weird down here. Once you’re used to it, you can jump wherever you want.”

That didn’t make any sense, but Sora just decided to let it go. Instead, he asked, “What are you doing down here, Ven?” 

“Oh, right,” Ventus said, looking suddenly sheepish. Sora’s eyes narrowed automatically, even as a guess started to form in his mind. “So, you know how I used to run off sometimes?” 

“ _ That’s _ your demon boyfriend?” Sora answered his question with one of his own, immediately jumping to conclusions before Ven could get any farther.

Ven threw his hands up in defeat. “You caught me?”

Sora really wanted to ask what Yen Sid had to think of all of this, but he’d die before he risked being called a snitch, so instead he just laughed. “Oh my gods, Ven.” 

“But more importantly, what are you doing here?” Ventus asked.

“Oh, right!” Sora said, repeating Ven’s earlier words back to him. “So, this is Aqua and Riku and I ran into her on the way-”

“Riku?” 

“And her husband got murdered so she-”

“Are you two done playing catch up yet?” 

Sora’s blood froze. He’d completely forgotten about the man still sitting on the throne. Or, the demon, rather. 

Ventus didn’t seem nearly as alarmed by this as Sora was. “Yeah, yeah. Come on, Sora, I’ll introduce you.” 

He grabbed Sora’s hand and started to walk him over to the throne. Sora glanced over his shoulder, but both Riku and Aqua were nodding for him to go along with it. 

“Sora, this is my boyfriend, Vanitas,” Ventus said, gesturing between the two of them once they’d reached the foot of the throne. “Vanitas, this is Sora, my best friend.” 

Vanitas stared down at them from his seat, otherworldly yellow eyes narrowed. Up close, there was something familiar about Vanitas that he couldn’t quite place. Maybe it was the hair…? 

“The one who got thrown out of the sky?” Vanitas asked, raising an arched eyebrow higher. 

Sora swallowed, hard. 

“Yeah,” he said, glaring right back up at Vanitas. “And what about it?” 

Vanitas’s mouth twitched into a smirk. “Fair enough. So, what do you want?” 

“This is Aqua,” Sora said, gesturing behind him to where Riku and Aqua were still standing, stiff as boards. “She’s come to get her husband back.”

“Oh, is that so?” Vanitas asked. 

Aqua finally crossed the distance between herself and Sora, Riku trailing close behind. She looked up at Vanitas, staring defiantly up at him. “Yes, that’s so. I came to bargain for his life.” 

“You know, we don’t really do that sort of thing down here,” Vanitas pointed out.

“I’m not taking no for an answer.” 

“You’re welcome to join him down here, if you’d like.”

“No. I’m taking him back with me.”

“Oh, come on, Vanitas,” Ventus chimed in, which was a good thing because Sora thought that Aqua was about three seconds away from knocking all of the demon’s teeth in. “Give them a deal. They’ve come all this way after all.”

Vanitas finally looked away from Aqua to glare at his boyfriend. “Fine. I’ll cut you a deal. Who is this husband, anyways?”

“His name is Terra,” Aqua said. 

“You’re gonna have to be more specific,” Vanitas said, sounding bored. Sora, who considered himself to be at least a little bit of a pacifist, wanted nothing more than to punch his teeth in. “There’s a lot of dead husbands down here.”

“His name is Terra. He died twenty-one days ago,” Aqua said, desperation creeping into her voice. “Murdered by a group of hunters. Six-two, brown hair, freckles-”

“Okay, okay, I get it,” Vanitas hummed. “Let’s see.”

“Quit being an asshole,” Ventus said, even though he sounded as cheerful as ever. “He’s here.”

Everyone’s eyes snapped to Ventus. 

“I’ve come to take him back,” Aqua said.

“Kind of figured,” Ven said, shrugging. “That’s his front, not mine. But…”

“Fine,” Vanitas muttered, waving his hand. 

“Terra!” Aqua exclaimed as a man emerged from the shadows. Personally, Sora thought he looked like something out of a nightmare, but she ran towards him anyways. 

The man, Aqua’s husband, lit up like a candle despite the fact that his neck was cut open, which Sora thought was rather admirable. And, really, that didn’t even seem to be the worst of his injuries, but then again, he was already dead, so maybe they were just for show. As Aqua ran at him, he met her halfway, throwing his arms open as she threw hers around his neck, burying her face in his chest as he rested his chin on the top of her head, eyes closed. 

They looked so happy and peaceful together that Sora felt like he was intruding on a private moment and had to look away. His eyes met Riku’s and his heart skipped a beat, though he had no idea why. He smiled and, thankfully, Riku smiled back.

“All right!” Vanitas barked, sounding more annoyed than anything else, “That’s enough.”

“Vani,” Ventus chided. The shock of his presence was still rattling Sora to his bones. “Stop that. Cut them a deal. They made it all the way here, after all.” 

Vanitas rolled his eyes at that, but shrugged. “Fine, whatever. Since Ventus seems to think you’re worth it, I’ll cut you a deal.”

Aqua’s head snapped in his direction. “Really?” 

He sneered at her. “Yes, really. Do I look like a liar?”

Sora had to bite his tongue. 

“But,” Vanitas drawled, “It won’t be for free.”

Aqua’s eyes narrowed. “Name your price.” 

Vanitas hummed, tapping his fingers on his throne. It was a grating, irritating sound. “Things get boring down here, so I’ll settle for a simple bet.”

“A bet?” Sora repeated. 

Vanitas shot him a glare. “Silence, peanut gallery.” 

Sora didn’t dignify that with a response and instead settled on glaring at Ven, who definitely snorted at that. 

“Anyways,” Vanitas continued, staring down at Aqua from his throne, “If you can get out of here with him, he’s yours. But he’ll walk behind you and if you turn around, he’ll be trapped here forever. Sound fair?”

Aqua’s brows knit in confusion. Sora couldn’t blame her; it sounded far too easy. “That’s it.”

Vanitas nodded, his lips pulled in a catlike grin. “That’s all.” 

Sora watched as Terra silently and gently turned Aqua’s chin to face him again. With a small smile on his face, he nodded. Even Sora felt reassured. 

“Uh, before you all leave, can I speak to Sora for a moment?” Ventus piped up. 

Aqua and Riku exchanged a look before Riku shrugged. “Fine with us.”

Vanitas seemed less agreeable, but after a moment he shrugged, too. “Fine.”

Suddenly, the world shifted, and Sora blinked to find himself back in the sky. “What the fu-”

“It’s an illusion,” Ventus said, sadness tinging his voice. “I thought it might make you more comfortable than that dreary dungeon. And it gives us a little privacy, too.”

Sora spun, eyes wide at the magic surrounding them. It looked exactly like home. He closed his eyes for a moment, imagining the sounds of birds flying below them, the feeling of clouds on his fingertips. He took a deep breath… 

… But instead of the sea below them, the smell of rot filled his nostrils, reminding him that he was so, so far from home. 

He opened his eyes. “I wasn’t expecting us to meet so soon, Ven.” 

Ventus grinned at him. “Me neither. What are you getting up to on Earth, anyways?” 

“It’s a long story,” Sora said, even though it really wasn’t. 

“Do they… know?” Ven asked, his smile faltering a little as his voice took on a somber tone. 

“Riku does,” he answered, scratching at the back of his neck. 

“Do you trust him?” 

“What is this, twenty-one questions?” Sora countered, but Ven’s look shut him up quickly. “...Yeah, I do.”

“And you’re not using feathers, are you?” Ven’s questioning continued. 

“About that…” 

“Sora,” Ventus breathed, eyes wide, “You can’t. You know that.”

“I haven’t used many!” Sora insisted, quickly. “And no more, I promise.” 

“Good,” Ventus said, grabbing his hand and squeezing it before letting go again, “I’d hate to see you trapped down here.”

Sora nodded, wishing that the uncertainty gnawing at his bones would leave him be. 

“We ought to get back,” Ven said sadly, letting out a long sigh. “But I’m glad you’re okay.”

Sora nodded again. “Me too.” 

The sky dissolved around them until they were left only with the cave

Vanitas grinned. 

“Good luck,” he said, snapping and plunging them into darkness once again. 

* * *

Of course, it wasn’t easy. That, apparently, would have been too much to ask for. 

As they walked, awful sounds echoed from behind them. Screams prickled the backs of their necks, sobs echoed and whispered in their ears. It was all a ploy, of course, to make them turn around.

Sora glanced down to see Aqua’s hands clutched into white knuckled fists. He couldn’t blame her. The temptation to check on Terra was strong in his own veins, he couldn’t imagine how much harder it was for her. But they all faced forwards, walking down the cavern. 

“We must be getting close to the stairs now,” Riku said, trying to boost morale. It wasn’t really working, but Sora appreciated it nonetheless.

“Yeah, it can’t be much farther!” Sora chimed in, even though he was starting to wonder if Vanitas was just playing tricks on them. It felt like they had been walking forever and Sora wasn’t even sure if the cavern was real any more, or if they were just going in circles while Vanitas laughed at them from his throne.

No, that couldn’t be it. Sora might not trust Vanitas, but he trusted Ven. And Ven wouldn’t let that happen.

As he was lost in his thoughts, there was a sound behind them like sword tearing through flesh. It was a disgusting, terrible sound and Sora felt bile filling the back of his throat. His skin crawled and how desperately he wanted to turn around and see if Terra was okay clawed at the back of his neck. But he knew, deep down, that it wasn’t real, that it was simply a trick of the Underworld, trying to thwart them from bringing Terra home at every turn. It wasn’t real. 

But, gods, did it sound so disgustingly real. 

Between them, Aqua froze, and Sora started with fear once again. He should have realized that if it was so bad that he wanted to turn around, it would be completely unbearable for Aqua. Shit- 

“Terra!” Aqua shouted, causing Riku to jump on the other side of her. And suddenly, she was wide eyed and turning and no, no no no she  _ couldn’t- _

Sora reached out, ripping her wrist in his direction, a desperate plea for her to remain facing forward. On her other side, Riku did the same, and Aqua herself found the sense to keep her head facing forward. 

Aqua hissed in pain, clutching her left wrist against her chest like a wounded animal. Seconds later, realization flashed across her face and she sucked in a deep, sobbing breath. 

“I- thank you,” she said, frowning, eyes staring straight ahead of her now. “I’m- I’m sorry. It just reminded me of…”

“It’s okay,” Sora said, mustering up the most reassuring smile he had for her. “Let’s keep moving. I’ll heal your wrist when we reach the surface.”

She nodded before taking off again. They were almost to the stairs by now, or at least Sora prayed that they were. They couldn’t be much farther. They just had to keep going. They could do it. 

It was still hard, but after her near devastating mistake, Aqua’s will seemed reinforced. She still winced at the sounds of peril from behind them, but she didn’t so much as flinch again. She walked a few feet ahead of them now, skidding to a stop suddenly.

“I never thought I’d be so glad to see those stairs,” Sora murmured as finally,  _ finally _ the winding staircase they’d begun their journey on came into view. It was just as daunting going up, so tall that Sora had to strain his neck to see where they ended, but there it was- 

Daylight. 

Sora could have sobbed in relief. 

It must have shown on his face because he felt something warm in his hand and looked down to see Riku’s hand in his. He looked up to see Riku looking away, a soft pink dusting his cheeks. Sora’s heart skipped a beat. 

“Up we go,” Aqua said. 

The climb itself was surprisingly uneventful. It was long and aggravatingly boring and Sora’s thighs and calves were burning from overuse but it was okay because they were almost there, they only had a few more flights to go, they were so close. 

They were getting so close to the light that it was beginning to blind him, eyes not adjusting as quickly as Sora wished they would. Still, feeling the sun’s rays on his skin after hours in the darkest pits of the Underworld felt like new life being breathed into him. He wondered if Terra, the actual dead man, felt the same way. 

Riku’s hand was sweaty in his as they finally,  _ finally _ reached the top, stepping out of the weird, rocky entrance they’d first started down earlier in the day and stepped off the wooden stairs and onto sweet, glorious grass. 

  
  


“Aqua,” a deep voice behind them said, and Sora felt joy clawing at his throat as he realized that they’d done it; they’d succeeded.

Aqua whipped around with the speed of a demon as Sora and Riku quickly made to sidestep out of her way. It seemed like a good idea to not be the only thing standing in the way of her and her husband.

As Terra stepped out of the cave and into the sunlight, Sora finally got a good look at Terra, alive and well, for the first time.

His injuries from before were gone and, most importantly, he looked alive. His skin was a warm brown again, the waxy, purple tint from earlier gone entirely. There wasn’t a blemish on him now, save for the splatter of freckles across his face. Had those been there before? 

Aqua ran to him and then he was sweeping Aqua up in his arms, spinning her around and they were both laughing and crying and grinning like fools and it made every second of this terrible, terrible day worth it. 

Sora felt Riku’s hair brush the top of his head as his friend leaned down to whisper in his ear. “I’m glad we did this.”

“Yeah,” Sora said, smiling, “Me too.” 

In the sunlight, everything felt peaceful. Sora basked in the warmth of the sun on his skin, in the glory of victory, and the joy of feeling the grass under his feet once again. 

If he wasn’t distracted, he would have noticed that they were being watched. But sadly, that wasn’t the case. 

* * *

“I’m boooooored,” Axel whined, leaning against a tree like it would bring some semblance of stability back into his life.

“I don’t remember asking,” Zexion muttered, staring intently ahead of them. Across the clearing was a small cave entrance. They’d been waiting for hours, but nothing had turned up yet. 

“Ugh. Watch this rock, no watch that rock,” Axel mimicked the sound of their leader’s voice, waving his hands like a madman. “Could he have given us a worse assignment? I mean, what are we even looking for?” 

“Are you stupid?” he asked.

Axel huffed. “Don’t be mean, Zex.” 

“Then you should know that we’re here because this is where the tracks en-”

“I know! I just don’t care,” Axel grinned.

Zexion fought the urge to smack him. 

“It’s been too long since we caught anything good,” Axel moaned, clearly still trying to fight his boredom. 

“We?” Zexion repeated. 

“Listen-”

“Shut up-”

Suddenly, figures began stumbling out of the cave, four of them. Zexion’s eyes narrowed as he surveyed them quickly, gears turning in his head. 

As they watched, the short, tan one reached behind his back and pulled something out of his tunic… a feather? And he held it over the girl’s wrist. It began to glow before falling to pieces like ash, dissolving into her skin.

“Should we tell the boss?” Axel asked, and though he still sounded bored, he was watching the group intently. “Should we attack now?”

“No,” Zexion said. “Not yet.”

And, unfortunately for him, his eyes stayed trained forward on the group across the clearing, not a glance to spare over his shoulder for his teammate. If he had, maybe he would have seen that the gears were also turning in Axel’s mind, green eyes narrowing at a dawning realization. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> underworld sidequest achievement: unlocked
> 
> and a few of the hunters revealed!! i wonder who the rest could be...
> 
> as always, please leave a kudos and a comment if u liked it!!! it really fuels the writing gremlin in my mind and also just makes me really happy and want to write more!!
> 
> and if u want to hear a bunch more babbling about this au, hmu on [twitter!!](https://twitter.com/vanitashours)


	3. Ienzo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes the chapter count went up. i have no self control. 
> 
> huge thanks to soup for betaing!!!

It hadn’t been long before Aqua and Terra had resolved to help him, too. 

Sora had told them that, really, it wasn’t necessary and that they shouldn’t trouble themselves with it. But they’d insisted and besides, Sora hadn’t been ready to say goodbye yet. 

He’d decided, as they continued on their journey with two new friends, that the weirdest thing on Earth was how quickly people came and went in each other’s lives. It was nothing like the sky, where you knew the same fifteen people and maybe rotated a new one in every century or so. There was no “I hope we meet again”s, only “see you later!”s. Even with the initial shock he’d gotten from being on Earth the first day or so, it didn’t come close to the ache of missing friends that was growing in his heart. Soon, they part with Aqua and Terra and as much as Sora hoped it wouldn’t be, it felt so… final. 

Riku… Sora didn’t know what to make of him, or his feelings about him. 

He liked Riku, he knew that much. He thought that Riku was kind and funny and he was undeniably beautiful. Even more so than some of the gods Sora met. 

And it was ridiculous because Sora had only known him for, like, two weeks. Was it less? No, more. Time was weird. It must have been at least three. But no matter how much time had passed, there was just something about Riku that Sora was simply drawn to, like a moth to a flame. He couldn’t help it. 

The sun shone through the forest around them, green leaves sparkling like diamonds around them. Their path was nice, peaceful. By the end of the day they’d reach a new town, filled with new people for them to meet. They would split with Terra and Aqua there, the pair splitting off to resupply and meet up in Scala after a few days. Sora wasn’t entirely sure why they couldn’t all go to restock, but Aqua had simply laughed kindly and said that he and Riku would just slow them down. 

  


As they got closer and closer to the mountain, Sora’s soul got heavier and heavier. It helped a little, he realized, when he distracted himself by talking everyone’s ears off. 

“So you really know Eraqus, yeah?” Sora asked, walking beside Terra. He had to tilt his head up as far as he could to actually look at him while they talked and it was honestly starting to hurt a little. 

Terra nodded, humoring Sora even though he’d answered this question twice already over the last two days. “Yeah. He took me in when I was young, taught me everything I know.” 

Cheesy, Sora thought, but he’d asked for it. “What’s he like?” 

Terra thought about it for a moment. “Stern. But caring.” 

Sora nodded. From what Terra had told him so far, Eraqus sounded a little bit like Yen Sid, but nicer. Not that he was holding a grudge or anything. 

He wasn’t.

(He was.)

But he didn’t really want to hear any more, even though he’d asked for the information. He didn’t want to think about Eraqus or the work he’d have to do to get into the sky. It brought a sour taste in his mouth, twisted his heart in the most uncomfortable way. 

So clearly the best way to deal with it was to not think about it. 

He looked down the path, catching sight of Riku leading the way. His normally loose hair had been tied in a braid, but the flowers were still tangled in it. Sora wondered if they were magical; he’d never seen Riku without them, even once. The braid fell down his toned back, clung to his shoulders… 

“But enough about that,” Terra said, smiling and waving his hand, “Go talk to him.”

“Huh?” Sora said.

Terra nudged towards Riku. “Go.” 

Sora felt his face heat up. Had his staring been that obvious? Had Riku noticed? Gods- 

“Okay!” He said, cutting himself off before his thoughts could run too wild. “I’ll do that.”

He skipped ahead, catching Riku’s arm. “Hey there.” 

Riku started, but quickly relaxed his shoulders when he registered Sora’s presence hanging off of him. “Hey, Sora.” 

“I had a question for you,” Sora said. 

Then again, Sora couldn’t bring himself to be mad about spending more one on one time with Riku. 

“Oh?” Riku asked. 

“How are you able to travel like this?” Sora asked. Immediately, Riku looked confused, so Sora quickly backtracked. “I mean, don’t you have to be one with a tree or something like that?”

He cringed even as he laughed, but Riku only snorted at him. “Not exactly. I don’t _ have _ to be connected to a tree at any given time. It’s more of a privilege. It makes me and the host tree stronger, but I don’t need it to survive.” 

“Hmm.” Sora thought on that for a moment. “That makes sense.” 

Riku shrugged. “It is what it is.” 

The thing about talking to Riku was, he never wanted the conversation to end. There were always more questions he could ask, always more things to comment on, just for the chance to hear Riku’s melancholic voice again. Sora could listen to him talk forever, the cadence of his voice the perfect beginning to his mornings and the most wonderful lullaby. 

“Wait, so if you…” 

The more Riku talked, the more Sora’s heart seemed to ache, the harder it was for him to ignore that ache. 

“... So, long story short, I use a short link with trees every night when we stop just in case. I don’t want to get caught in a nasty situation with only half my energy,” Riku said. 

“I can’t believe I didn’t notice,” Sora frowned. 

Riku laughed, though, shaking his head. A strand of hair fell in front of his eyes and Sora, on impulse, reached out to push it behind his ear. 

Riku stared at him, eyes wide as Sora pulled his hand back, cheeks heating up. 

“I-it doesn’t really work like that,” Riku stammered, struggling to get them back on track. “It isn’t flashy like your magic.” 

“My magic isn’t flashy!” 

“It is,” he continued, “The light and the sparkles are very flashy. Mine can’t be picked up by the eye.” 

“Well that’s no fun,” Sora pouted. 

“It works,” Riku shrugged. 

“Not as well,” Sora insisted, for solely petty purposes. 

“Does too,” Riku fought back. “Probably more, considering it doesn’t need to be flashy to work.” 

“Yeah, but-” 

“What are you two arguing about?” Aqua interrupted. At some point, she had gotten close enough to eavesdrop on them and Sora hadn’t even noticed. 

“Nothing,” they both said at the same time. Their eyes met and they burst into giggles as Aqua stared at them. 

“What on Earth are we going to do with you two?” she sighed, mocking exasperation. 

Sora shrugged. “No idea.” 

“We’re getting close to town,” Terra said from the back. “We’ll split up soon. Aqua and I will go east, see what we can find out about the hunters from town while resupplying. You two will go on ahead and we’ll catch up in a handful of days.” 

“We know!” Sora reassured him. They’d been over the plans at least a hundred times. “It’ll be fine.” 

Aqua pursed her lips, concern written in her furrowed brows. “I don’t like splitting up. Not with the hunters so close behind us.” 

“You worry too much,” Sora said, waving away her concerns. “Trust us, we’ll be okay. Right, Riku?”

Riku nodded. “Yeah. You don’t need to worry about us.” 

Aqua didn’t look convinced, but she nodded anyways. “Fine. But you better keep yourselves in one piece. I am not going all the way back down to the Underworld a second time, you hear me?” 

Both boys nodded quickly as Terra laughed. The breeze pushed through the trees and cooled Sora’s skin as they walked, the conversation pattering into less serious subjects as they grew closer and closer to the town. He felt perfectly at ease with the group, a sense of belonging hanging over him like a second skin. 

He tried his best to ignore it. 

* * *

Meanwhile, Axel was scrying. 

The pool ripples were distorting the image, but he couldn’t be bothered to find a still bowl. He had a message to send, after all. 

“He’s too clever,” Axel was saying, bored already by the bureaucracy of it all. He only half believed it. The other half wished he hadn’t bothered bringing it up in the first place. One member plotting against them wasn’t going to be the end of the world. Of course, he had to go and mention it offhand and now it was an ordeal. Why couldn’t anything ever be simple? 

“He isn’t clever enough,” Saix drawled, leaning over Axel’s shoulder with the sense, “Or else you wouldn’t have caught him… But… This could be a good opportunity.” 

“For what?” Axel asked, curiosity piqued just a little. 

“We could use him as bait,” Saix murmured, more to himself than to Axel. The moonlight was shining off his blue hair, backlighting him almost like a painting. Axel would have thought the scene was rather pretty if it weren’t for the impatience boiling in his blood. “They’ll stop to help.” 

“You sure about that?” Axel said. His thoughts were wandering, drifting to the boy he met in the market, the one searching for his friends. Finally, something interesting. 

Saix glared at him. “Of course they will.” 

“So what should I say to boss?” he asked. 

“Tell him that we’re getting close to capturing a large bounty and dealing with insubordination. Two for the price of one.” 

Axel rolled his eyes, but nodded. “Aye aye.” 

“And do deal with him shortly. I’d like to get this over with quickly,” Saix added. 

Axel mocked a salute, but the man was already walking away. 

* * *

Saying goodbye to Aqua and Terra was hard, tugging at Sora’s heart in such a painful manner that he was certain that it couldn’t be normal. But he kept his smile plastered on, promising to take care of himself and Riku in the meantime. Riku scoffed at that and Sora couldn’t help but laugh at it. It hurt, but they’d meet again. He told himself that that should ease the pain of parting with friends. 

It didn’t.

* * *

“Are you _ fucking _ kidding me?” Zexion spat as Axel’s boot pressed into his throat, threatening to crush his windpipe. He gasped for air, black spots erupting in his vision as he clawed at Axel’s leg to no avail. 

“Yeah, babes. Higher ups got wind that you’re getting cold feet. Of course, I told them that, but it’s still a pity,” Axel sounded regretful enough, but his cold grin gave him away. “You used to be so useful.” 

His vision was getting spotty, black covering where the sky and Axel’s fiery red hair should be standing out above him. Rage coursed through his veins at the betrayal, but even more than that, he felt… sad. He should have seen this coming, truth be told. He should have known better. Should have known that it was foolish to hope that their hearts could be changed now, all these years later. That they could give up hunting, stop with the hurting and the killing and just… be a family again. That was all he’d ever wanted, long before he grew mean and cruel to fit in with the younger members that joined their little group. He should have known better than to dream of happiness. Of being Ienzo instead of Zexion again. 

He should have left a long time ago. 

He should have done so many things. 

“Just get it over with,” he hissed. 

Axel’s boot pressed down hard and, despite desperately not wanting to show weakness, Zexion gasped for air. 

“As you wish,” he shrugged.

The last thing Ienzo saw was the burning flame of Axel summoning his chakrams. 

* * *

Sora, in theory, knew better than to go wandering off by himself. But he told Riku that he was going to look for berries while Riku bathed in the stream and besides, he wouldn’t be gone long.

And that’s exactly what he did. Riku fashioned him a basket from fallen branches, weaving them together quickly with the help of his magic 

So it was, fine, perfectly fine, right up until Sora tripped over the corpse. He screamed, of course, because that was the natural reaction to tripping over a dead body in the middle of the woods. There was blood- so much blood, it was _ everywhere, _ on the ground, the body, the leaves- soaking the soles of Sora’s feet and he felt bile pushing against the back of his throat but-

The dead body groaned. 

He was moving instantly, hands going to his back without instruction. He barely felt the pain of plucking them, the feathers filling his hand in a fistful as adrenaline coursed through his veins. He crouched, watching as they glowed in his fist before dissolving onto the body before him, holding his breath and waiting anxiously for the man to breathe. 

“Wake up,” Sora said, grabbing the bloody shoulders and shaking them as the magic lit up their veins under the skin, bringing life back into the nearly deceased body.

Finally, after what felt like a decade, the man gasped. Sora let out a deep sigh of relief, rocking back on his heels. 

“Good morning,” he said, forcing cheer into his voice. “You had quite the accident.” 

“It wasn’t- it wasn’t an accident,” the guy said, sitting up, clutching frantically at his throat. “Who are you?” 

“Deep breaths,” Sora said, placing a hand on his shoulder, feeling the wince that followed. There was no way he was feeling pain, but Sora understood that some wounds ran deeper than the skin. “My name is Sora. I’m here to help. What’s your name?” 

“My name is…Zex- no,” the man hesitated. He glanced around, frantically with wide eyes. Sora tilted his head, waiting. “... Ienzo.” 

Relief flooded Ienzo’s features as he breathed out the name and Sora was still confused, but at least he had something to call him. It was like life had begun to trickle into his veins

“So, Ienzo,” Sora said, “What exactly are you doing bleeding out in the middle of the woods for?” 

* * *

First, Ienzo rinsed the blood off himself and his clothing (a long black tunic that looked vaguely familiar to Sora), and then he spoke. His voice was hoarse and he only stopped once to break into a coughing fit, which Sora quickly gave him another feather for. He tried not to cringe as he heard Ven’s warnings in his mind again. 

Ienzo told a sorry tale, one of a family found and subsequently lost, and Sora’s heart couldn’t help but ache for him. 

At the end of it, Sora asked him, “What now? What do you want to do?”

Ienzo had started a little, as if the question surprised him. “I… I don’t know. What do you think I should do?”

“I don’t know either,” Sora admitted, truthfully. 

“I was hoping someone could tell me,” Ienzo sighed. 

“Well, that’s not going to work,” Sora said, frowning. “You can’t keep following orders forever.” 

“But I… don’t know what I want,” Ienzo said, eyebrows furrowed as he stared at something in the distance. His lip trembled, but Sora didn’t think it’d be nice to comment. “I don’t think I’ve ever thought about that.” 

Sora’s heart ached for him. He knew a little bit about destiny, after all. 

Ienzo sighed, rolling up his long, wavy sleeve. He gestured for Sora to look at his wrist. On it, Sora saw an old, slightly faded burn scar. It took him a few seconds to register the shape: the numeral VI.

Sora glanced up, meeting Ienzo’s eyes. “What…?” 

“That was my number. Each of us had them. I was six… They took me in after my parents died. They were good once, all of them, before the hunting started. But then that began and I… I thought I had no choice” Ienzo said, his voice sounding strained. “But I did. I could have run away. But I was just scared and that fear made me mean and cruel and I just wasn’t looking for an exit anymore. I thought I’d made friends, that I had a family. But they wouldn’t even call me by my real name anymore. It was all just a lie.”

Sora was holding his breath as Ienzo talked, listening to the story with fervor. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what it must be like to be betrayed like your own family like that. Then he thought of Yen Sid, high and mighty up in his stupid cloud castle and thought that maybe he could relate to Ienzo after all.

Ienzo blinked very rapidly and very suddenly, shaking his head and quickly covering his wrist again. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to dump that on you. I’ve just…” 

“Haven’t gotten to talk to anyone in awhile?” Sora finished for him, offering up a smile. “It’s okay, I get that.”

“Still, I’m sorry for metaphorically crying on your shoulder,” he said, returning the smile with a small one of his own, but it quickly fell as he sighed, looking down at his hands resting in his lap. “There’s one more thing I should probably tell you.” 

“Yeah?”

“I’m worried that this might be a trap,” Ienzo said, sadly. 

Sora’s heart shot into his throat. “Really?” 

He nodded. “Yes. It would make sense. When Axel wants to kill, he succeeds. I can’t fathom a single other reason that I’m still alive right now.” 

“But they haven’t attacked us yet,” Sora pointed out, frowning. Wouldn’t they have tried something while they were sitting here talking? Ienzo’s blood hadn’t even finished drying on the forest floor yet, if anyone was waiting to attack them, it would have been the opportune time. 

“That does… bother me,” Ienzo murmured, lost in thought. “Maybe I’m wrong? I just thought...” 

“Come with us,” Sora blurted out, suddenly. “If they’re watching us, we should stick together. We can protect you.” 

Ienzo laughed, but it was a sad and empty sound. “Thank you. But I think splitting up would be for the best. I’d only bring you more trouble.” 

Sora pouted, so Ienzo continued, “But I’ll take you back to find your friend, at the very least. I don’t want you wandering alone if this is the trap I fear it to be.” 

It was better than nothing, Sora supposed. “We should probably do that soon. Riku’s probably having a heart attack right now.”

A pang of guilt pierced his chest as he realized how long he’d been sitting with Ienzo. He hoped Riku wasn’t actually worried sick. How long had it been? Hours?

“Then let’s get you back to him,” Ienzo said, breaking through Sora’s anxieties as he stood up. 

“Right!” Sora nodded. “This way!” 

Thankfully, he really didn’t think he’d wandered too far from Riku before he’d found Ienzo. At least, he hoped not. The forest didn’t seem any denser and he was pretty sure that if he followed the stream, they’d run into where he’d split off soon enough. 

Still, with each passing minute, he started to get more and more worried. What if Riku had stumbled across the hunter’s trap? What if he was hurt because Sora had disappeared for so long? What if-

“He’s fine,” Ienzo said, seemingly out of the blue. When Sora looked to him, confused, he added, “I can see you working yourself up. I’m sure he’s just fine.”

“We should have found him by now,” Sora said. 

“He’s probably looking for you, too,” Ienzo reasoned. “We’ve got to find him eventually.” 

Sora nodded. “Right! Can’t give up that easily!” 

Ienzo met his smile with one of his own. “That’s the spirit.”

It was immediately after he spoke that they heard a loud crashing sound in the trees. His breath caught, hope and worry at war in his mind. Was it Riku? A hunter? Whoever- whatever it was, it was close. 

Both Sora and Ienzo tensed, immediately on guard. 

“Riku?” Sora called, hesitantly. 

A blur of silver and green barreled toward him from the trees and Sora didn’t even have time to react before Riku had thrown his arms around him, holding him tightly for a moment before jumping back again as if he’d been electrocuted. It had lasted barely a second, maybe even less than that, but Sora felt a rush of joy in his heart from the contact. 

“Sorry,” Riku said quickly, looking sheepish, “I was worried about you.” 

Sora’s smile grew infinitely wide at that as his heart skipped a beat. “Well, I’m okay.” 

“Yeah, I can-” and Riku cut himself off, apparently noticing Ienzo for the first time as his body tensed again. “Who’s he?” 

Ienzo raised his hands in a mock surrender. “I’m-”

“This is my new friend!” Sora cut in cheerfully, “His name is Ienzo. He used to be a hunter!” 

“What?” Riku hissed, green eyes narrowing in response to Sora’s declaration. Oops. 

“Used to be being the operative word!” Sora said quickly, trying to put out the fire he’d started. “He’s good now.” 

Riku didn’t recoil. “It doesn’t just work like that. It isn’t that simple.” 

“I know!” Sora said at the same time Ienzo said, “You’re right.” 

“It isn’t that simple,” Ienzo continued, speaking calmly despite the two pairs of eyes on him. “It isn’t. But Sora saved my life and I’d been wanting to leave for some time now. It was anything but simple.”

Riku didn’t take his eyes off the newcomer as he asked Sora, “Is that true?” 

Sora nodded. “It is! He was bleeding out in the forest. I kind of tripped over him.” 

Riku seemed to relax, but only a little. “Fine. He can stay.” 

Sora, who didn’t realize it was even up for debate, grinned. “Good! Then I’m going to find something for dinner. You two get to know each other while I go looking.” 

With that, he left them both staring after him, entirely unsure of how to act in each other’s presence. 

* * *

In the end, Ienzo stayed with them for one night and one day, no longer. He wished them a goodbye and a good luck, and Sora wanted to cry because once again, he was leaving a friend. The sun was setting and night seemed like such a bad time to part ways, but Ienzo was headed west to search for the answers that might save his family while Sora and Riku were continuing towards the mountain that was still so far in the distance. 

“I’m going to miss you,” Sora said, giving his new friend one last hug. 

“Are you sure you’ll be okay on your own?” Riku asked. 

Ienzo nodded. “I’ll be fine. I know how to handle myself.” 

Riku opened his mouth to comment, but closed it again. Sora imagined that he was biting back a snarky comment on the state he’d found Ienzo in, the exact opposite of taking care of himself. 

Sora wanted to say something, too, but he couldn’t find any words. 

"I don't think I'm a good person," Ienzo admitted, his gaze wandering towards the sunset. "But thanks to you, I’m glad I get a chance to try." 

“And,” he added, a moment later, “I think I’d like to try and fix my family again.” 

* * *

That night, it was hard for Sora to find sleep. 

So instead, he remembered.

When both Sora and the Earth were young, Sora had asked Ventus why they were never allowed to go to the planet. 

“Because,” Ventus informed him, in the know-it-all tone of voice he reserved just for Sora’s childish questions, “It’s forbidden.” 

“But why?” Sora pestered, clinging to Ven’s arm and _ tugging _, as if that would make him give up all the answers. 

Ventus had laughed at him, shaking his head and trying to shake Sora’s grip on his arm. Looking back, Sora supposed that he must have been humoring him; there was no way Ventus was actually affected by Sora’s weak grip. He let Sora cling, overexaggerating his shrug for his sake. 

“Beeecause,” he said, dragging it out as long as he could, “They say that Earth is… haunted!” 

Sora had frowned at that, not believing it for an instant. “Can’t Xehanort just keep all the spirits in the Underworld? Isn’t that his job?” 

Ventus had sighed, ruffling Sora’s hair. “When did you get so smart? I thought you’d have fallen for that.” 

Sora pouted even harder at that. 

“Come on, Ven, tell me the truth,” he whined, tugging on his arm again. 

“All right, all right,” Ventus huffed. “The truth is, Yen Sid says there’s too many distractions on Earth. That if we weren’t careful, we’d go down there and never return, cursed to wander the planet for the rest of time.” 

“That’s stupid,” Sora said. 

“Perhaps,” Ventus had agreed, a twinkle in his eyes. “But who would hang the stars if not us? We’re needed here.” 

Sora had accepted that answer with as much grace as he could, even if he thought it was total bullshit. 

Now, though, he thought he understood it, at least a little more. How easy had it been, to forget the stars, once he’d found one here on Earth? How little had he thought of returning home, despite it being the point on his entire mission? 

As he looked at Riku’s sleeping face beside his, silhouetted in the moonlight, he sucked in a deep breath. How desperately he wished for the growing ache in his heart to fade. How desperately with each passing day he wished to reach out and run his fingers through his long, soft hair, fingertips catching on the flowers braided into it. How desperately he wished he could brush the bangs aside with the gentlest of touches, how he longed to hold them away and press his lips to Riku’s forehead, to his cheek, his jaw, to his lips. If only he could- 

But he closed his eyes, squeezing them shut as hard as he could, so hard it made his head ache, right between his temples. He couldn’t think like this, he _ couldn’t _. He was going to leave, after all, and he already knew it was going to feel unbearable. He couldn’t make it worse on any of them by entertaining thoughts like these. 

There was something painful blooming in his chest, choking him, heavier than even the feeling of being dragged to Earth by his wings had been, making it impossible to think of anything else. It was something, he thought, a little like he’d always thought loneliness might feel like. 

And he shoved it down, forcing it from his mind as a single tear escaped his eye, catching in the light of the stars and reminding him of home.

It was, unsurprisingly, a sleepless night. 

* * *

Days past and Aqua and Terra had yet to return. There was a sinking feeling in Sora’s chest when he thought of them, but he shoved it down. The initial worry of Ienzo’s warning wore off, too, as the distance between them grew. 

Still, Sora should have known better than to wander off on his own _ again. _He’d found a corpse last time, sort of, and Riku had been on edge for days. They were still a day or two from reuniting with Aqua and Terra, they had to be careful. 

But Sora wasn’t thinking; Riku was bathing in the river, so maybe it was a good idea for him to run ahead and scout the path. 

But. 

_ But. _

“Well, well, well… Now what do we have here?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did i add an entire chapter just so ienzo could be in this au?? yes. yes i did
> 
> there's a playlist for this fic now!!! u can listen [here!!](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0Uw5W3GYjKu8zRhGkcJQwf?si=Wy9JjvCCR7am4MPpjE0_JA)
> 
> twitter @vanitashours
> 
> thanks so much for reading!!! please leave a kudos and comment and all that jazz if u enjoyed !! feed the writing gremlin he's starving-
> 
> have a great day!!

**Author's Note:**

> thanks so much for reading!!!
> 
> pls comment and kudos and all that if u liked it!!! hmu on twitter for all the feral screaming [here!!!](https://twitter.com/vanitashours)
> 
> have a great day!!


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